BUT THERE HAVE BEEN 14 HOMICIDES IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, SEVEN OF THEM ON THE WESTSIDE. ALL OF THEM REMAIN UNSOLVED. IN TWO WEEKS, THE MAYOR IS PRESENTING HIS BUDGET FOR THE CITY AND FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2009 THE CITY IS SEEING AN INCREASE IN TAX REVENUE. IT LOOKS LIKE CITY SERVICES WON'T BE CUT. IN FACT, WE COULD SEE SOME IMPROVEMENTS. JIM PIGGOTT IS AT CITY HALL. EVERYBODY IS GOING TO WANT TO KNOW IF THERE'S EXTRA MONEY, WHAT ARE THE CHANCES TAXES WILL GO DOWN? WELL, THE CHANCES ARE NO TO THAT. YOU KNOW, ALREADY DEPARTMENTS ARE ASKING FOR MORE MONEY, SUCH AS THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT AS WE JUST MENTIONED HERE. AND NOW MAYOR BROWN IS WEIGHING HIS OPTIONS. $1 BILLION IS WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TO RUN THE CITY NEXT YEAR. IT'S MONEY THAT MAY NOT INVOLVE A TAX INCREASE. IN FACT, PROPERTY VALUES HAVE INCREASED IN THE CITY, BRINGING IN AN ADDITIONAL $17 MILLION. WE FEEL GOOD THIS YEAR THAT WE'VE SEEN ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE COMMUNITY AND SO THE TAX BASE IS STRONGER. IT ALLOWS US TO MAKE SOME STRATEGIC DECISIONS AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE CONSIDERING RIGHT NOW. SO LET'S LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE THINGS UNDER CONSIDERATION STARTING WITH THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT. THE TOTAL BUDGET IS $400 MILLION, A 10% INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR. THE SHERIFF SAID ON FRIDAY HE COULD ACTUALLY USE $22 MILLION MORE WHICH WOULD ALLOW HIM TO HIRE 40 NEW POLICE OFFICERS AND REHIRE 40 COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICERS AND REPLACES THE AGING FLEET OF POLICE CARS. WE ARE DESPERATELY -- OUR FLEET IS IN A DESPERATE PLACE. IT DOESN'T DO ANY GOOD TO HAVE OFFICERS IF YOU CAN'T PUT THEM IN CARS. SO NORMALLY WE LIKE TO RUN A FOUR OR FIVE-YEAR-OLD FLEET AND WE'RE MUCH OLDER THAN THAT NOW. REQUESTS LIKE THAT WERE TURNED DOWN IN PAST YEARS. NOW THE ADMINISTRATION IS TAKING A DIFFERENT APPROACH. STRONGLY CONSIDERING WHAT THE SHERIFF HAS SUGGESTED, AS WELL AS OTHER DEPARTMENTS. OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, WE'LL BE MAKING THE FINAL DECISIONS. INSTEAD OF CLOSING FIRE STATIONS, WE'RE LOOKING AT A $204 MILLION FIRE RESCUE BUDGET WITH $7.9 MILLION INCREASE. LIBRARIES HAVE BEEN A PROBLEM IN PAST YEARS. HOURS WERE CUT AND THREATS OF CLOSING DOORS WERE ON THE HORIZON AND NOW THE LIBRARY BOARD IS PROPOSING CLOSING ONE BRANCH BUT TALK OF BUILDING A NEW LIBRARY ON THE NORTHSIDE. THE LIBRARY BUDGET IS NOW AT $32.1 MILLION. YOU KNOW, THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE YEAR THAT WE WERE GOING TO HEAR A LOT ABOUT PENSIONS AND WE ARE. NOW, IN THIS BUDGET, WE KNOW THERE'S GOING TO BE $190 MILLION, WHAT THEY NORMALLY NEED. NOW THE MAYOR AND THE AGREEMENT HE'S WORKING WITH THE PENSION FUND WAS HOPING TO PUT IN $40 MILLION MORE. WELL, THAT MONEY, THOUGH, HAS TO BE APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL AND THEY SAY THAT MONEY WOULDN'T EVEN REALLY COME FROM THIS BUDGET. SO IT'S GOING TO BE AN INTERESTING TALK THIS YEAR AND WE MAY NOT SEE THE BUDGET CUTS

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